Non Wobbly Tripods!

Dave Young

Dave Young

Well-Known Member
After last night's shenanigans with a Jessops wobbly tripod, I'm looking at tripods again (I've looked at them several times in the past). The problem is for the number of times I really use a tripod I'm too mean (read poor) to spend a lot on one. :D

I've looked at several of the Chinese options on eBay but not sure whether the quality is likely to be much better than I have with my Jessops one. In fairness, the legs etc. with the incumbent Jessops one are fine, it's the head (which is not detachable) is rather flimsy, so there's movement in it.

Has anyone any experience with these?

You can pick them up for around £30 quid or so, including a ball head which would be nice - or is this simply wishful thinking on my part, and I need to set my sights a little higher? :rolleyes:
 
I'd head to ebay and look at S/H Manfrotto, Giottos or Gitzo. The Gitzos will be very expensive even S/H, but if you can find an old one that looks as tatty as hell going cheap, snap it up; they are virtually indestructible. I have an ancient Studex Series 5 that I paid £60 for years ago that looks, to quote the guy in MXV who I bought it from, "like it's been hit by a truck." But then he qualified that by say he'd hate to see the state of the truck. I have no idea how you would get a tripod into such a state but everything works perfectly and all the actions glide just like my newer models. Impressive!
 
Dave...just my experience and opinion. You asked...so here's what I recommend...put away as much as you can...as often as you can...and wait until you can get a real usable set. Most of my life was focused on food and shelter so I understand what you mean about poor. I tried and tried to find a cheap tripod and ball head...and failed. In fact I believe I spent more on trying than what I did when I saved enough to go for what actually worked. It will make all the difference in the world...I promise.
 
I guess I should add something, seeing a I was the one to call my tripod wobbly. Some time ago I was in a serious B&W forum and all the guys had really sturdy tripods. Mine is lightweight and has a habit of letting me down. Having said that, they all agreed that in some circumstances even the heavy ones get wobbly. I chose mine deliberately because I can't cope with anything heavy. There are tricks I use though - it was windy in Cornwall recently, so I set it very close to the ground and where possible, behind shelter. At one point I also leant on the middle section to keep it down. That worked fine for exposures of less than a second, but I wouldn't want to do that for any longer.

If you are serious, then the others are probably right :)
 
Thanks guys... Of course I know you're all right :rolleyes:

However, I've probably used my tripod around a dozen times in 4 years... so struggle to warrant spending any kind of reasonable money on one... hence the reluctance to do so. There's plenty of other things I can think of I'd rather spend the money on :D These Chinese options look so tempting, I was hoping someone was going to be my saviour and tell me XXX type was fantastic for the money and just what I needed :p:cool:
 
I have this tripod, spent a bit of time trying to find reviews on a good cheap tripod and this one came up as the winner, not that expensive, it has a ball head and its sturdy but not overly heavy. I put my speed graphics on this tripod and poked it a bit, didn't wobble at all, plus there is a hook under it to add additional weight if you needed. I also used this on my D3100 when I was out shooting at the archery club, stayed solid even in windy conditions. It also has a quick release head as well so I just mounted the base to the camera and can easily unclip or lock it on there, not seen many around with the ball head (with inbuilt bubble level).

I believe these are quite cheap as they have decided to make a lot of good quality tripods so they are cheap due to volume rather than cheap due to material cost.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002L4ODDS
 
Right, I'm going to save you pennies ..........
I have a Hahnel triad 30.... It around 30 quid, AMAZINGLY light for and surprisingly sturdy for it's type.
The legs 'open' up even further to support the stability factor.
I love it for what I do, portable, light, and I would say the sturdiest skinniest tripod of its kind.
Brilliant!!!
 
I've bought a few tripods in recent years all but one second hand, £10 for a great Slik Prototype last year, and I've a Manfrotto in Turkey that was about £20 and a Majestic I use with my Agfa Ansco 10x8 that came in a job lot of darkroom equipment.

my point is there's some superb second hand tripods that go for peanuts.

Ian
 
On a very windy day...
Just let the pictures do the talking......
4ad75567.jpg

PC296330.jpg

PC296325.jpg
 
I use a Calumet it does the job and like you Bread and butter for tea first, and use stuff to support if necessary in the wind it's not a heavy weight job but heavy enough if trudging the hills', can't find or think of the Type No. XXX sorry but had it since 08 used for 360 piano work too, Calumet range is pretty fair imo
 
We used to sell "slik" tripods at the shop, they were pretty good! I don't remember the model numbers all that well, but I think the "pro II gm" was the one I liked ... They look to have sold s/h on eBay recently for £30

I have a manfrotto ... It's sturdy, but I hate it! I can't get a head for it that I like. They are all crap!
 
Thanks for the photos @Dan Cattermole - that looks just the job :)

I had a quick look in Jessops this morning. They had a Manfrotto 055 which is a solid piece of kit. Bit pricey for what I need (read need), and I'd need to buy a ball head on top. To be honest I think it would be a bit OTT for my needs.

The guy in there was telling me the Jessops ball heads are supposed to be pretty good and only £19.99 too…
 
Hamish Gill said:
We used to sell "slik" tripods at the shop, they were pretty good! I don't remember the model numbers all that well, but I think the "pro II gm" was the one I liked ... They look to have sold s/h on eBay recently for £30

I have a manfrotto ... It's sturdy, but I hate it! I can't get a head for it that I like. They are all crap!
Click to expand...

I bought a Slik Sprint Pro II in Worcester about 4 years ago, they are also sold as Calumet own brand, it's small & light and fits inside my back-pack. However it's not the most robust of tripods but it does what I need.

Ian
 
I actually use a video tripod for sturdyness .... it is squared section and as solid as they come, I need it for standing on windswept hills or flowing rivers
 
If it helps & it is a cracker I have a used Manfrotto 055C legs with the telescopic centre column & a MN029mkII 3 pay pan & tilt head here at the showroom, very solid, used to have one myself & I know this will take a 5x4 monorail camera no problem at £130.00 INC P&PIt has low swithing for the legs so 3 angles & the head has lovely big grip arms to adjust everything PRO JOB for not much money & if any thing were to go wrong you can still get spares for it UNLIKE CHEAP CHINESE ONES.
 
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